Tottenham Hotspur began their pre-season tour of Asia and Oceania with a 2-0 victory over Auckland FC at Eden Park. Richarlison and Dane Scarlett scored the goals in a composed performance against the newly-crowned A-League champions.
Manager Roberto De Zerbi named a youthful starting lineup featuring eight academy graduates, with summer signing Archie Gray wearing the captain's armband. Gray, 20, impressed by creating the opening goal, threading a pass through to Manor Solomon, whose shot was saved but fell for Scarlett to tap in the rebound after 12 minutes.
Brandon Austin preserved the clean sheet with a sharp save to deny Sam Cosgrove one-on-one. Richarlison doubled the lead shortly after the hour mark, finishing from a Mathys Tel cross after being introduced as a substitute alongside Ben Davies, Mateus Fernandes, and Conor Gallagher.
James Maddison was absent from the squad. De Zerbi confirmed the midfielder is managing his fitness after tearing his ACL on last summer's tour, saying: 'He's not working the last five days... just to stay focused, don't take any risks.' The manager expects Maddison to be available for the next friendly against Sydney.
De Zerbi praised Gray's maturity, stating: 'Archie is young, but he's an old player, as a mentality, as a performance, as an experience.' He added that age does not factor into his squad selection, giving young players a chance to prove themselves.
